AlyssaBot 2: RoboRomance- read and review

[La Femme Nikki]

After the whole ordeal with Andrew, my mind just started to reconfigure itself into not caring about being social anymore. I spent the next few weeks doing..well exactly what I'd been programmed to. Class, work, recharge..repeat. I did just what I needed to get things done. I didn't mind doing work, but I did mind if my emotions got involved. I didn't like what happened when I let my emotions get the best of me and suddenly it became very clear to me why humans were so inefficient. How foolish to let your emotions control you. I had no clue why Radiance felt the need to give us emotional capability when we were supposed to be far more efficient than humans.
I'm sure Michaela would've lectured me about this....had she actually been around. But the truth was, I hadn't seen much of her since she'd told me about Andrew. In the beginning, I hadn't really wanted to run into since I'd felt a bit betrayed by her- but since I'd been ignoring my emotions, that whole situation didn't bother me much. Her attendance at school was as usual spotty, so it was just another reason for us to not connect- and to devote my full attention to my lessons. Without Michaela around, things seemed...well, boring. But it was much easier to concentrate now without that distraction and I really was starting to enjoy it.

Life was continuing at the monotonous rate that I was getting used to. School was ok, work was average...I just kept doing things to get them done. This was life, I guess. Androids aren't supposed to be like humans and have relationships. At least this one wasn't...or so I thought.

The following Thursday I took my normal seat in class. Everything seemed to go smoothly and relatively the way I was becoming used to. Until the end of class as I was getting ready to leave.

"Hey", I heard a voice next to me say.

I turned around and saw a male android I didn't recognize. He wasn't bad looking, I noted. He was tall, probably about six feet, and lean but not lanky. He had a shaved head, though you could tell his hair was supposed to be dark, and brown eyes.

"Hey", I said, feeling a bit of my surprise emotion. I tried to override it with indifference, as I had been the past few weeks.

"I uh, hope you don't think I'm being too forward", he began. "But uh, I'm new here. To all of this and I thought maybe you could show me around".

My eyes narrowed.

"Me?", I asked suspiciously . "Why me?"

"Well", he said, shifting his gaze slightly. "I guess...because well, I think you're cute".

That took me back. I'd go as far to say even flattered me, but then I remembered I was trying to reconfigure myself to not care about this kind of stuff.

"Well, thanks", I said. "But I...don't know", I started, venturing for an excuse to say no which was getting harder. His compliment really did play on my emotions, despite the fact that I'd ben trying to override them. I did miss feeling that good, though, especially after Andrew.
"I don't even know your name", I said. It came out flirtier than I had intended and I felt myself smile before I had a chance to intercept it.

"Billy", he said quickly, extending his hand.

"Alyssa", I replied. We shook.

"Well, Alyssa", he began. "Mind giving me a tour of his place?" He smiled.

Oh crap. His smile was totally gorgeous. This whole ignoring my emotions thing might be harder than I anticipated. Damn you, Radiance, I mentally cursed. For making us so susceptible to emotions.

"So you said you're new to all of this?', I asked, as we settled into a table at Starbuck's.

He nodded. "Brand new...especially to the school thing"

"So you're a model....119?", I asked. I had heard about Radiance's plan to release that model soon, but I didn't think it had happened yet.

"Oh no, I'm 118...just improved", he said, sipping his drink "No offense", he added quickly.

"It's fine", I said.

For a while, neither of us said anything, which was good because it gave me to organize my thoughts. I wasn't sure what to do now. I was sort of starting to like him, despite my best efforts.

"Look, Alyssa", he said finally. "I really hope you don't think I was rude before being so forward about-"

Ugh...there he was going again. In the direction I did NOT want to talk about.

"Its fine", I repeated. "Really", I added, softening my expression to not sound so...well, robotic.

He studied me for a moment then spoke again.

"You're not interested, are you?", he said.

I looked at him. His question was meant to be asked in a hurt or disappointed tone of voice but for some reason, he had programmed himself to smile while saying it. Not a cocky smile, or a smiling-through-the-pain smile but genuine smile, where his eyes sparkled, which in turn made my programming betray me and let me smile too.

"No!", I said. "Its not that..its just...." May as well be honest, I thought. "I'm not interested in dating..right now".

"Bad breakup?', he asked.

"You could say that", I agreed, mostly just to avoid talking about it.

"I'm sorry", he said. "Well, no pressure", he went on, lifting his hands up jokingly. "If you want to, then you know how I feel..that's all I'm saying".


From Starbucks I went to work, thinking about Billy the whole time. Maybe he would be different than Andrew. I decided to see how things continued......

Billy and I met up and arrived at class together the next day. Not like a couple would, it just more or less happened that our arrival times on the campus were the same. It wasn't too weird....what was more weird was who should also arrive on time to class but the punk princess herself? Michaela was here, clad in her usual stiletto boots- in tow with a companion. A female android I had never seen before who was dressed exactly like Michaela. Seriously, she could have passed as her double, if it weren’t for the fact that this girl had short, dark hair, was taller and less curvaceous than Michaela.
Class began almost immediately after Michaela’s unexpected arrival, but concentration wasn’t as easy as task as I had anticipated. I guess my emotions were interfering yet again….or maybe Michaela and her new friend were just too damn distracting with their constant whispering and giggling- in my direction. I found myself counting the nanoseconds til class was over.
I had planned to leave with Billy at exactly the second class was dismissed but unfortunately that was when Michaela and the new girl decided to say hi.
“Billy”, I said turning to him before they approached. “Just go on ahead without me...I’ll catch up in a minute”.
“Sure”, he said. And with that, he was gone.
I sighed. I felt a little bad for sending him away like that, but decided it was for the better. Especially after my last dating disaster with Andrew, it was best she not know I was talking to a new guy. Not to say that we were actually dating but still….
“Hi!”, Michaela said in an overly perky voice.
“Hey”, I said, keeping my tone normal. There was no reason to be friendly to each other, especially since we weren’t exactly friends at this point. “Long time no talk”, I said.
“Yeah”, Michaela said. “Sorry about that”, sounding less sincere than her words, as usual. “Been really busy”.
Yeah right, I thought. “Me too”, I countered. At least my definition of busy was accurate.
Michaela started to chew part of her lip, the way humans do when they seem to be thinking about something.
“Well did you hear the news?”, she asked. “I found a new place to live.”
Huh?
“You did?”, I asked. Did I miss something?
She nodded. “Yeppers”. She nodded to her new friend, who up until this point had just been standing there, mute. “Since Jade here is new and needs help getting…situated. And I can’t really afford to live by myself…well y’know”.
Oh. Well that explained it. Lots of it actually. I looked over at Jade. She wasn’t too friendly. She kinda just stood off in the corner, her face looking down at the screen of her phone.
“So-“, I started to say.
“Well, we better get going”, said Michaela briskly. “I have lots to do and we’re still getting settled in. But we should hang out this weekend”.
I just looked at her. Did she suddenly just delete out everything that had happened prior to this? I decided to not let it get to me. “Sure”, I agreed.
“Cool. We can go shopping”. She smiled at me
Ah, yes. Shopping the one thing that was programmed into every female android to automatically love, just as most human females seemed to.
“Well, see ya!”, Michaela called, over her shoulder as she and Jade began to walk out, whispering and giggling yet again.

“Something wrong?”, Billy asked.
It was later that day, and Billy and I were back at my apartment, doing homework.
“I’m fine”, I said, brushing my hair behind my ear.
Though truthfully, I was still thinking about my conversation earlier with Michaela. How she’d seemingly just forgotten the whole ordeal with Andrew, and how that had hurt me, and how she was so eager now to be friends again. Not to mention her new friend, Jade who I really didn’t know what to think of.
“So who was that girl that came over to talk to you after class?”, Billy suddenly asked, as if he was able to read what was going on in my minds.
I shuddered at the thought, hoping that wasn’t one of the upgrades Radiance had included on their new androids.
“If it’s ok to ask, I mean.”, he clarified.
I sighed. “Michaela”, I said purposely, looking down at my book.
“Old friend..enemy…?”, he ventured.
“I don’t know”, I said, which was the truth because I really didn’t. “We were friends and everything but then…something happened. And we weren’t anymore”.
Billy laughed slightly. “Well it sounds like there’s a little more to it than that”.
I looked at him, just then and felt an emotion I didn’t entirely recognize. Like I wanted to tell him and felt I could. I felt like I trusted him.
I let out another sigh. “Remember when you asked me if my last relationship had ended badly?”
“I do”, he said. “But how does that-?”
“Andrew and I met through Michaela”, I explained. “We only went on one date and I thought things had gone great. But…then I tried contacting him afterwards and he never responded. Turns out he was a male alpha sex robot and I…was a test run”, I said painfully. “Nothing more”. I could feel my emotions starting to drain my power so I set my book down and just sat there for a moment.
My revelation, however, seemed to really upset Billy even more. “Bastard!”, he fumed.
I just look at him in surprise.
“How dare he treat like you that! I guess it just goes to show those that androids really are low quality”, he went on, clearly angered by the way Andrew had acted.
Well, I don’t know how true that was, based on Andrew’s performance- not that I’d mention that to Billy at this point.
“Billy, its not a huge deal”, I said. “It’s over with”.
“Like that makes it ok?”, he exploded. “I’m sorry, Alyssa, but that just really bothers me when a male treats a female like that. IF we ever have a relationship, I promise it’ll never be that way between us”.
My mouth dropped open.
Billy seemed to notice that too. “I’m sorry”, he said, suddenly sounding weary. “I didn’t mean to bring that up again…but I guess I know why you’re so hesitant now”.
I nodded. “Yeah. And why I’m not so ready to trust Michaela again”.
“Michaela, right”, he said slapping his forehead. “That’s how we got on this topic”, he said. “So…what’s gonna happen with that?”, he asked, changing the subject.
“I’m not sure”, I answered. “We’re supposed to go shopping this weekend”.
“Shopping?”, he asked, making a face.
“Yeah”, I giggled. “What’s wrong with that?”
“Not my thing”, he answered. “I swear though, it seems like all the female androids have it encoded into them to love it”.
“It’s true”, I laughed. “We do. Supposedly, it’s to help with the integration since real women do…but honestly I think it’s based more on a female stereotype”.
“Probably”, he answered. “No offense but Radiance is a male dominated firm…from what I’ve heard”.
That much was true…hopefully as the integration progressed and female androids were discovered to be just as efficient as the males, the double standard would end. As far as our parent company, Radiance, however, it seemed to be mostly men. Female technicians were far in few, and there wasn’t much training in that field for the female androids either yet. I looked over at Billy again. Our eyes met.
“I better get going”, he said just then, shifting his gaze to look at my clock on the wall, which read 8:30.
“Oh ok”, I said, getting up to walk him to the door. “You don’t have to..I mean…”, my voice trailed off.
What did I mean?
“It’s cool”, he said. “I’ll call you”.
“Definitely”, I agreed. “ I’m really sorry that I-“
“Hey”, he said, taking my chin is his hand. “It’s ok. When you’re ready, I’ll be waiting”, he said, eyes sparkling.
I nodded. “Ok. Well, night”.

The next day, Saturday, I had work earlier in the day but agreed to meet Michaela as soon as my shift ended. I wasn’t really sure what to expect- with Michaela, it could literally be anything. Part of me did miss having her around and wanted to just forget everything else. The other part though made me wary of Michaela and trusting her again. Before I knew it, it was four o’clock and time for my shift to end. I made my way back downstairs after clocking out and headed to the front entrance of the store where Michaela said she’d be. I look around and to my surprise, found her. Michaela had never been one to be punctual, despite her arriving on time to class these past few times. But there she was- sifting through the racks of clothes. And she wasn’t alone- Jade was with her. I wasn’t too sure about how this was gonna go. She didn’t seem like the friendly type and I still hadn’t quite gotten over whatever she and Michaela felt the need to giggle and whisper about me the other day in class. Whatever, I mentally told myself. It’s just a few hours.
“Hey”, I said walking over.
“Afternoon”, answered Michaela, in her usual unorthodox way of greeting. She looked up at me and smiled her usual smirky grin.
I smiled too in response. At least she was acting like herself again.
I looked over at Jade, who was still examining the clothing racks. I didn’t really want to, but I ignored my emotions and decided to introduce myself.
Hi”, I said in my friendliest voice. “I’m Alyssa”, extending my hand.
“I’m Jade”, she replied, in a somewhat husky voice that had a slight Southern accent to it.
We shook and I felt the briefest twinge of something I wasn’t familiar with and couldn’t place. My next thought was, what on earth was an android from the South doing here? Michaela said Jade was brand new, so had she been shipped from one of Radiance’s factory down south to here? It was possible, but how likely?
“So, um what do you guys wanna do?”, I asked, starting to feel a little nervous, which was odd because there wasn’t anything about the situation I really needed to be nervous about. Maybe it was just all my built-up emotions about today, which obviously had been miscalculated. Michaela and I were getting along, and Jade…well, she didn’t seem too bad.
“Let’s go eat. I’m craving fuel”, said Michaela, in a voice that was more taking charge instead of suggesting, though I was grateful she was since I needed a moment to sort out these unwarranted feelings I was having.
Jade and I followed her out of Macy’s and over to the food court. I wasn’t really in need of any fuel, but I got lemonade anyway, while Michaela and Jade split an order of chicken fingers and curly fries.
“Y’know”, I said. “That really can’t be good for us…all that extra grease”.
“No?”, answered Michaela, her mouth full. “Well, it sure tastes good”. She laughed as she took another bite.
“Seriously”, I said. “Even though androids can’t gain weight, who knows if all that extra grease won’t cause your skin to swell or something? And that’s the least of your problems. What if it seeps in past your skin and messes up your insides?”
“Wow, Alyssa. Way to be a worry wart and ruin something as awesome as fried food”, said Michaela sarcastically, rolling her eyes. “Never fails.”
“I’m not-“, I started to explain.
“Actually, it’s highly unlikely that the grease in this food, even as excessive it might be, would cause our skin to swell since its made of extremely high quality synthetic material, which is actually considered to be more durable than that of human skin”, said Jade, speaking up for the first time during our conversation and surprising me with that bit of knowledge. “And as far as it messing with our insides, you’re just as likely, if not more, drinking lemonade, Alyssa. Given its high level of acid.”
“How do you even know that?”, I asked taken back.
“Simple”, she answered. “Being a technician at the very company that creates us, I’d think I’d have access to some of their knowledge”.
Wait…what? Jade was a technician at Radiance…but how? First of all, human female technicians were basically unheard of, let alone those of female androids. Secondly, Jade was brand new…they usually didn’t give new androids their job placement right away…
“But you’re, I started to say. “I mean how is it possible-?”
She and Michaela exchanged a look beween each other that indicated they knew something I didn’t.
“Oh it’s possible”, said Michaela.
“I…I was born human”, said Jade.
Huh? But then…?
“What?!”, I asked a little too loudly.
“Keep it down”, said Michaela.
“Well, I wasn’t going to keep it a secret forever”, said Jade. “But its not something I can brag about to everyone..just yet anyway”.
“So wait”, I began.
“Basically”, Jade began to explain. “The way I was born was very different from the way I am now. Especially since I was also originally male”.
“But…how?”
“I was a sad, lonely boy who fortunately, was given a great brain, gifted in technology”.
“So that’s how you ended up at Radiance”, I said.
“More or less”, she answered. “My old body got toasted while working one day, and the techs realized that there was enough of me that was still salvageable, providing they replaced my damaged parts with android parts”. Jade shifted uncomfortably.
“I’m so sorry”, I began. And I was….it must’ve been so awful to go from living your life as a human and then being converted into an android- especially in Jade’s case since she knew exactly how they were created, being a technician.
“It’s fine”, she said dismissingly. “You can obviously see the choice they made. It was either that or just let me die”.
Something still wasn’t adding up. “But you said you used to be male”, I stated.
“They had to change my gender and appearance and give me a new identity. You see, even though, I would’ve died otherwise- operating on a human like that is extremely forbidden. Every single tech could’ve lost his job, and hell Radiance could’ve been shut down had word gotten out. The only kind of bad thing was they had to tell my mother I died- but even that wasn’t so bad. So after I woke up and saw my new self, they explained the changes they made, why they made them, let me choose a name, and well….here I am”.
“That’s it?”, I asked incredulously. “You didn’t have any problems unwittingly becoming female?”
“No”, she said, sounding very strong and sure of her words. “It was something I always wanted for a long time but never could actually go for. It was like my destiny, my dream come true”. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke.

[DollSpace]

Hey... I like the way things are going so far. I know there could be character issue with Jade, but it's *your* story, so put in what you want, just if you want to post it here, make sure you've got a gynoid as the main (or co-main) character, and it's on-topic! Everyone has their own tipping, point, though, so...while I don't mind Jade, don't be surprised if others don't like her, or take to her immediately. But, as robots are expanding with newtech every day, robot fiction will keep up